Military

Further Reading

LAW
OF LAND WARFARE

"Cruelty
in war buyeth conquest at the dearest price."

-
-Sir Philip Sidney

"War
is cruelty and you cannot refine it."

-
-W.T. Sherman

COMBAT
EXPERIENCE

Recent
combat operations indicate the need to educate and enforce the laws of war
among members of the Armed Forces. During every armed conflict, needless lives
are lost and property destroyed because combatants failed to abide by the laws
of war. Some of these violations are caused by a blatant disregard for the
international laws of war and some are a result of pure ignorance. The laws
are not new. Some semblance of the present laws of war have been around a long
time. Over 100 years ago most civilized nations recognized a need to prevent
unnecessary destruction of lives and property on the battlefield. Most nations
endorse these laws, but do not always abide by them. The law of war today,
embodied by the Hague and Geneva Conventions, can be generally divided into
four categories:

Soldiers
must know and abide by the laws of land warfare even if the enemy does not.

KOREA:
1st Cavalry Div "Their Hands Tied Behind Their Backs"

During
the early days of the Korean War, the 2nd Bn, 5th Cavalry was involved in desperate
efforts to hold Hill 303 N. E. of Waegan against a massive North Korean attack.
Two of the Battalion's companies were surrounded on the hill and overrun. While
a few were able to escape to safety, many were captured. The 2nd Battalion
immediately began to retake the hill, but it took two days to drive off the
North Koreans. On the way up the hill, soldiers found the bodies of 36 of their
comrades with their hands tied behind their backs, shot in the head. The massacre
survivors confirmed that after two days as prisoners, the North Koreans had
lined the Americans up and shot them in the back. Only by hurriedly smearing
blood on themselves and playing dead did anyone survive at all. [28]

Lesson
Learned

Dealing
with our responsibilities under the law of war is hard when tough choices are
faced in the midst of combat.

During
the battle for Goose Green in the Falklands, British soldiers saw an Argentine
soldier in a defensive position raise a white flag to surrender. LT Berry,
a platoon leader in 2 Para, his RTO, and his runner, approached the position
to accept the surrender. Another Argentine fighting position nearby opened
fire on the three British soldiers, killing LT Berry and CPL Sullivan, and
wounding the RTO. The white flag, when used by troops, has no significance
other than that of expressing a desire to communicate with the enemy. It may
also indicate the surrender of an individual soldier or a small party. The
enemy is not required to cease firing when a white flag is raised by an individual
or small group. It
is up to friendly troops
to
determine under what authority the white flag has been raised. Friendly forces
can only accept a surrender if the enemy commander has ordered the white flag
raised; otherwise, extreme caution must be taken before acting on a white flag.
If the Argentineans used the white flag as a trick to secure an advantage over
the British, which does not seem to have been the case, then this action would
be prohibited by the rules of war. Firing on soldiers attempting to accept
a legitimate surrender falls under the category of forbidden targets. The British,
however, did not believe this case fit that category and did not pursue the
matter as a violation of the law. [29]

Lesson
Learned

Commanders
and legal officers must insure that all soldiers know their responsibilities
under the laws of land warfare. Once
in combat, it is too late.

FALKLANDS

Two
British light helicopters were shot down over the sea by small arms fire. Soldiers
from the shore continued to fire at the crews as they struggled in the water,
killing three and seriously wounding the fourth crew member. Firing on downed
helicopter pilots is prohibited and constitutes a serious breach of the 1949
Convention. The convention protects stipulated parties or those aboard aircraft
which must make forced landings at sea. These individuals must be treated humanely.
[30]

Lesson
Learned

In
an insurgency, it is too easy to forget that the laws of land warfare still
apply. The U.S. and other nations have agreed to obey the laws of land warfare.
Some nations seem to have forgotten they signed the treaties.

AFGHANISTAN

Most
of the Soviet violations in Afghanistan fall into the category of illegal conduct
of hostilities under Hague Convention Number IV concerning illegal targets
and unlawful warfare techniques. The Soviet Union has also violated the Geneva
Convention's protecting prisoners of war and civilians. Unable to "Vietnamize"
the war, Moscow has intensified its effort to brutalize the Afghan population
into submission. The central theme of Soviet occupation seems to be one of
calculated brutality. Most atrocities on the population are planned in advance.
For example, whole sections of the country are free fire zones. In areas where
convoys have been attacked, ground and air forces have raided villages, destroyed
crops, and bayoneted women and children. Small anti-personnel mines disguised
as ball point pens, books, watches and even toys have been air dropped indiscriminately
with the intent of maiming the rebels and their supporters. Many victims have
been children and livestock.

In
1981, the Soviets executed 12 rebel sympathizers by running over them with
tanks.

In
September 1982, 105 civilian males who fled to the shelter of a tunnel were
incinerated alive when Soviet troops pumped gasoline into the tunnel and ignited
it with rifle fire.

In
the Afghan village of Kerela, the Afghan Army, along with their Soviet advisors,
assembled 1170 male inhabitants of the village, executed them, and then buried
them in a mass grave nearby. [31]

Lesson
Learned

Field
SOPs should also provide clear instructions and guidance on the seizure, requisition,
or purchase of private property and the laws on war trophies.

GRENADA

There
were no reports of serious violations of Forbidden Targets, Tactics, and Technique
and Enemy Captives and Detainees in Grenada. However, there were plenty of
violations in the areas of Civilians and Private Property and Prevention and
Reporting of Unlawful Acts. For example, many local civilian automobiles in
Grenada were improperly seized for use by military personnel. Many of these
vehicles were marked with various slogans, soldier's initials, graffiti, and
unit identifications. The most serious violations were the looting and transporting
of scuba equipment back to the U.S. Unfortunately, all these violations could
have been prevented. International law recognizes that during a conflict some
hostile government and private property may be used for military purposes.
In these cases some sort of compensation must be made to the owner prior to,
during, or after hostility has ceased. In all cases each unit must keep records
of seizure and issue a receipt to the owner (if known) to assist in the repayment
for goods and services.

Many
captured enemy weapons were illegally brought back to the U.S. Although evacuating
captured enemy weapons and equipment is not a violation of International Law,
it is a violation of U.S. Laws for soldiers to bring back automatic weapons,
ammunition, and other explosives. The Soviet-made AK-47, an automatic weapon,
made up the bulk of illegal weapons sent back to the U.S. [32]

References

The
following regulations and publications provide guidance for commanders to educate
U.S. soldiers to abide by the international laws of war.

AR
350-1,
Army
Training,
Aug 1987, requires that all military personnel maintain a high level of proficiency
and knowledge in Common Military Training (CMT) subjects. The Geneva/Hague
Convention is one of the common subjects.

AR
220-10,
Preparation
for Overseas Movement of Units (POM),
requires that commanders insure all personnel alerted for overseas movements
have a personal knowledge of their rights and responsibilities as soldiers.

AR
608-4,
Control
and Registration of War Trophies and War Trophy Firearms,
defines what a war trophy is and prescribes the procedures for legally shipping
war trophies back to the United States.

FM
27-2,
Your
Conduct in Combat Under the Laws of War,
Nov 1984. This manual explains the Law of War in very simple terms and highlights
those laws that soldiers are most likely to encounter.

FM
27-10,
The
Law of Land Warfare,
July 1956, combines into one document a complete text of the Geneva/Hague Conventions.

FM
19-40,
Enemy
Prisoners of War, Civilian Internees, and Detained Persons,
Feb 1976, provides guidance for the treatment of detainees from point of capture,
through evacuation to internment and release from captivity.

TC
27-10-1,
June 1979, Selected
Problems in the Law of War.

TC
27-10-2,
September 1980, Prisoners
of War.

TC
27-10-3,
April 1985, Instructor's
Guide to the Law of War.

Bottom
Line

The
laws of war must be integrated into training. It will be too late in the stress
of combat.